True Tourists in Sydney.

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It is hard to believe that we debated allowing Sydney just a few days. As we boarded our Greyhound from Coffs Harbour, we were thinking of ways to fill our days. We couldn't have been more wrong.

We arrived in Sydney at 12:30am after our 10 hour bus journey. We were told the hostel was 100 metres away from the Central Station we were dropped off at. Sadly, our driver managed to point us in the opposite direction and we were guided to our hostel by a group of friendly drinkers. Monday marked Anzac day, a remembrance of the war dead. Instead of observing a one minute silence as we do in England, everyone was out drinking...any excuse. However, we were too tired and made our way into bed upon our arrival. The hostel was huge and extremely lively, we were all extremely impressed.

Tuesday was the day of my Harbour Bridge Climb. I woke too heavy rain and black skies all around the city. I was extremely excited and my mood wasn't damped at all, just my clothes! My climb was scheduled for 12:15 and I set off early to allow for wrong turns! I walked through central Sydney and managed to find the Bridge where I managed to get on an earlier climb. The weather was still poor as we kitted up in overalls and rain jackets. We were breathalised and completed a practice climb indoors. Luckily, my rescheduling of the climb meant my group size was 6 instead of 12 and we all got on well. When I realised the average age was over 40 I was not thrilled but everyone had something interesting to say about themselves and their experiences. As we moved out of the centre and onto the bridge, there was a slight apprehension within me as I am not massively keen on heights. The fears were soon washed away as the leader fired facts and stories at us. We took a lot of time to climb the bridge and see the sights, pausing for photos and stories. The main ascent is a staircase leading along the arch of the bridge and the views were stunning. The rain had stopped and the dark clouds were on the other side of the bridge (the side furthest from the Opera house). We stopped at the top of the bridge to admire the view. 134 metres above the sea. The views were breathtaking the harbour lay before us with the sea behind it. The bridge was built in 1932, it was amazing to think such a feet was possible in those days. 16 men lost their lives in the process, 6 million rivets were used and it was all British Engineering. After a spending a while at the top we started our descent. Climbing a ladder in between two railway tracks with trains passing us and down onto the lower walkway. On the way down, we were shown a pub moved brick by brick to make way for the Harbour Bridge. After saying goodbye to the OAPs, I went straight to the pub for an expensive fish and chips with a pint. A couple I was behind on the climb happened to have the same idea and ended up sitting with me. All in all, it was an unbelievable experience that I will never forget. To be standing on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and gazing on the Opera House really is the ultimate Australian experience.

The following day, Alex rejoined the group from his weekend in Surfers Paradise. We had both been studying our Lonely Planet guides and had made a list of essential Sydney experiences. We all agreed a trip to the Aquarium would be a real treat and went down to Darling Harbour with our cameras to hand. The aquarium was impressive and a particular highlight was the Platypus who was particularly active for us! Once again, we had become real tourists and we had a really good day out.

Thursday arrived and yet again their was something to do. We ventured out to the Australia Museum and had another day of wandering around and reading placards. The museum was along the lines of the Natural History Museum in London and was fascinating. I could spend a while boring you with facts but I'll save that for my return. We spent the evening relaxing knowing the Royal Wedding would be a big night.

The day of the Royal Wedding came and annoyingly clashed with an Aussie Rules football match. We have seen many games before and they are blood baths. Broken shoulders and bones are common and the game doesn't seem to make much sense. Patriotism prevailed and I was excited to see if it would live up to the huge coverage. The girls in our room were excited about the dress and all of that nonsense, so we politely humoured them and agreed that the decision of dress colours was endless. 'She might wear white, or cream or...', they were right...the possibilities were endless! I bought my edition of the Sydney Morning Herald so I could read up on the formalities. The wedding wasn't on until 7pm in Australia so we spent another day as tourists. An open top bus tour was on the agenda and we enjoyed seeing all the famous sights. The tour gave us a good idea of how to spend the remaining days and good local knowledge. Sadly, in true Sydney style, the rain fell and we manged to head back to the hostel with good time for the wedding preparations. There was a real buzz around the hostel and 100 of us gathered around the television to witness the moment in history. We all agreed that the wedding was amazing and made us proud to be British. To celebrate in true Aussie style, we began drinking our bargain box of wine and had a great night out.

We woke with sore heads and for the first time in Sydney, spent a day doing nothing. Alex and Oli slept whilst myself and Zach headed to the shopping district for a bit of retail therapy. Annoyingly, the day of our hangover was a sunny day. We recovered before heading our again for another night out in Sydney.

Sunday had come around fast and we decided to treat ourselves to a day at the Powerhouse Museum. I was not impressed when I found their main exhibit was Abba clothing and the second was arts and crafts. However, it turned out you had to pay for Abba and I was spared the nightmare. The museum was Sydney's answer to the Science Museum in London and yet again was fascinating. We spent 3 hour marveling at the space, planes and rail exhibits, before briskly walking through the crafts and old musical instruments and heading for a late lunch. Alex had spent the day with his girlfriend at Taronga Zoo and was confident it was hugely better than Australia Zoo (the old home of Steve Irwin). I was intrigued and decided I had to see for myself. That evening, we went down to Darling Harbour to witness their free firework display. It was brilliant and I can't imagine how the New Years Fireworks compares!

Since my Bridge Climb, my constant facts and stories had taken its toll on Alex and Zach. They booked up to climb on Monday leaving me and Oli to spend the day as we wished. It didn't take long before we were at Circular Quay waiting for a ferry to Taronga Zoo. The zoo is on an island and has stunning views of the city all around. The weather was not good and the rain fell hard. We left our ferry and boarded a cable car up the mountain side to the zoo. We arrived and debated buying a plastic rain coat before seeing the ridiculous price tag. We took refuge in the reptile area and I was immediately stunned. The range of animals was vastly superior to the Australia Zoo. An added bonus was the activity of the animals, their must be hormones in their water because they were all doing something for once! We spent the day seeing as much as we could and fitting in the amazing shows and thankfully the weather had cleared for us. A particular highlight was the seal and free flight bird show. It was possibly the best zoo I have ever been too and we struggled to fit everything in. The range of animals was huge and it was well worth the money. We had to pay $100 for a ticket and transport to Australia Zoo. We paid $49 for a day at Taronga, cable car and ferry tour of the harbour, great value for money. The back drop to both the bird and seal show was the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and business district. The whole thing was almost surreal and I was sad to see our ferry arrive for the trip home.

That leads me onto today. Alex, Zach and Oli have all gone to see Oli's cousin who looked after us on our first night in Sydney. They are all in desperate need of a washing machine and thankfully Amy lent a hand. I was unable to go as I am meeting a relative, Sue (Dad's cousin) for dinner tonight. I am very excited to share stories with her and hopefully she can shed some light on my delinquent Father!

I struggle to believe it was six weeks ago since we arrived Down Under. Time has gone so fast and we have experienced so much. Today is Tuesday and I am flying on Thursday at 16:40. I am excited to return to the homeland. It will be great to see my family but I am mainly excited to see my beloved car (yes Mum I'm joking)! I hope you are all well and the weather is good for my return, my next update will be from Sydney Airport laden with my bags!

Love Jonathon

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Comments

[Night Out Cruises]

Good Sydney Review Jonathon
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